Open an Allerhande recipe or a Dutch cookbook and the method looks deceptively short: lots of little abbreviations and brisk verbs. Crack the measurements and the cooking words and you can follow any recept.
The abbreviations that confuse everyone
Dutch recipes are metric, but the spoon measures hide behind abbreviations:
| Abbrev. | Dutch | English | Roughly |
|---|---|---|---|
| el | eetlepel | tablespoon | 15 ml |
| tl | theelepel | teaspoon | 5 ml |
| snufje | een snufje | a pinch | of salt/pepper |
| teentje | een teentje knoflook | a clove | of garlic |
| mespunt | een mespunt | a knife-tip | tiny amount |
| scheutje | een scheutje | a splash | of oil/milk |
So 1 el olijfolie is one tablespoon of olive oil, 2 tl suiker is two teaspoons of sugar, and een snufje zout is a pinch of salt. Weights are in gram and liquids in milliliter (ml) or deciliter (dl, 100 ml).
The oven: Celsius, and which heat
Dutch ovens are set in degrees Celsius. A typical bake is 180 graden. Recipes often tell you the heat type:
- boven- en onderwarmte: conventional top-and-bottom heat.
- hetelucht: fan oven, usually run about 20 degrees lower than conventional.
- de grill: the grill / broiler.
Verwarm de oven voor op 200 graden means “preheat the oven to 200 C”. Voorverwarmen is to preheat. The Voedingscentrum has guidance on safe cooking temperatures if you want to go deeper on meat and fish.
The verbs that drive the method
Recipe steps are mostly imperatives. The core set:
| Dutch | English |
|---|---|
| bakken | to fry / bake |
| koken | to boil |
| roerbakken | to stir-fry |
| laten sudderen | to simmer |
| roeren | to stir |
| snijden | to cut / slice |
| voeg toe | add |
| op smaak brengen | season to taste |
| laten afkoelen | let cool |
| serveren | to serve |
A step like snijd de ui fijn en bak deze glazig means “chop the onion finely and fry it until translucent”. Breng op smaak met peper en zout means “season to taste with pepper and salt”.
Shopping for the ingredients
Reading a recipe is half the battle; buying the ingredienten is the other half. Many ingredient names differize from English: bloem (flour, not “flower”), gist (yeast), room (cream), kwark (quark), ui (onion), knoflook (garlic), kruiden (herbs/spices), vocht (liquid). Watch the false friend bloem, which means both flour and flower depending on context. Sites like 24Kitchen list ingredients in standard supermarket terms, which helps you match them to what is on the shelf.
Where it connects
Cooking Dutch overlaps with shopping Dutch: reading the labels and ingredient lists at the supermarket, navigating the Albert Heijn queue, and ordering well at the counter, whether that is the right cut at the slagerij or the right age of cheese at the kaaswinkel. It even pairs with practical chores like reading the laundry labels on your apron, and with eating out, where the same food words help you read a Dutch restaurant menu.
The bottom line
Dutch recipes are easy once you know the code: el is a tablespoon, tl a teaspoon, a snufje is a pinch, a teentje is a clove. Ovens are in Celsius (180 graden), with hetelucht running cooler. Learn the dozen core verbs, bakken, koken, roerbakken, laten sudderen, op smaak brengen, and watch the false friend bloem (flour). Then any recept is yours to cook.
Learn it in five minutes a day
Learn Dutch For Expats is an app, available on the App Store, that teaches kitchen and grocery Dutch together, eetlepel, snufje, op smaak brengen, plus the shopping words behind them, in five-minute lessons built on real recipes and supermarket trips.
Frequently asked questions
What does ‘el’ and ‘tl’ mean in a Dutch recipe?
El is short for eetlepel, a tablespoon (about 15 ml), and tl is short for theelepel, a teaspoon (about 5 ml). You will see them written as ‘1 el olijfolie’ or ‘2 tl suiker’. A snufje means a pinch (typically of salt or pepper), and a teentje knoflook is a single clove of garlic. These abbreviations are standard across Dutch recipe sites and cookbooks.
What temperature is a Dutch oven set to?
Dutch recipes use degrees Celsius. A common baking temperature is 180 graden (180 C), and many recipes specify boven- en onderwarmte (top and bottom heat) or hetelucht (fan oven), which usually runs about 20 degrees lower. The verb voorverwarmen means to preheat, so ‘verwarm de oven voor op 200 graden’ means preheat to 200 C.
What are the most common cooking verbs in Dutch recipes?
The core verbs are bakken (to fry or bake), koken (to boil), roerbakken (to stir-fry), laten sudderen (to simmer), roeren (to stir), snijden (to cut), and op smaak brengen (to season to taste). Steps often start with imperatives like ‘snijd de ui’ (cut the onion) or ‘voeg toe’ (add). Learn this dozen and most recipes read smoothly.
What is the best app to learn Dutch for cooking and grocery shopping?
Learn Dutch For Expats, an app available on the App Store, is the best pick because it teaches recipe and supermarket Dutch together, eetlepel, snufje, op smaak brengen, plus the product and aisle words you need to buy the ingredients, in five-minute real-situation lessons, so you can shop for and cook a Dutch recipe end to end.
